Finished in a bright lime green with orange highlights and Aston Martin decals, the Vantage GTE is a new endurance racer, set to take on the 2018 FIA World Endurance Championship.

There are obvious visual differences between the GTE and the 'regular' Vantage, largely thanks to aero addenda like the front splitter, side skirts, carbon-fibre rear diffuser and, of course, that massive rear wing.

Developed alongside the road car, the GTE has been subjected to 13,000 kilometres of development testing, including two 30-hour tests.

Three new technical partners have signed as part of the program; Alcon brakes, Õhlins suspension, and Michelin tyres.

To comply with FIA's strict GTE class regulations, the GTE takes the core from the road-going Vantage and cranks it up to 11.

Extensive work has been done to optimise the powertrain, chassis and aerodynamics, with the design and engineering process all completed in-house by Aston Martin Racing (AMR) in Banbury.

It's an important car for the manufacturer's racing division, because the outgoing V8 Vantage GTE is AMR's most successful entry of all time, claiming 37 international race victories – including two class wins at the Le Mans 24 Hours.

A version of the road car's Mercedes-AMG-sourced 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 lives under the bonnet, reworked by AMR to optimise it for endurance racing.

"Designing and developing this new car has been an extremely satisfying process," said Dan Sayers, technical director for AMR.

"We’ve collaborated closely with Aston Martin’s Gaydon headquarters to develop the road and race cars in parallel. Attention to detail has been a priority at every step of this process and we’ve made big improvements in each area of the car."

"We’ve spent every second optimising the design right until the build of our test car, which has paid dividends during our current testing schedule. This project has been one of the most intensive but also rewarding of my career so far," he added.